In 2014, Plymouth State University’s Office of Research and Engagement worked with TreMonti Consulting in an effort to support the intellectual property and technology transfer needs and opportunities at the University. The Office of Research and Engagement has also worked with the Faculty Welfare Committee and others on campus to devise an intellectual property policy that fits our needs.

Plymouth State University and Keene State College are working together to share information and find ways to better support our intellectual communities.

Compliance: We must be compliant with federal regulations (Bayh-Dole) regarding how IP generated with federal funds is managed. [This currently affects only a small segment on our campus with federal funding, but will grow as we mature organizationally.

Faculty Support: We must provide appropriate intellectual asset management support to all faculty (regardless of funding source: federal/non-federal/internal). We need to do so in order to attract and retain the best faculty scholars, and allow them to flourish over their careers at KSC and PSU. This is also important to maximizing PSU’s role as a catalyst for innovation and high quality of life in the region.

Reputational Value: Done well, intellectual asset management should increase the reputation of our faculty and our two institutions (KSC & PSU). The value of our intellectual assets (be they technological inventions, creative works, or precious holdings) should be visible and known for their impact on society. This means we must have clear ways for those intellectual assets to be appropriately accessible to others. Sometimes this might be through commercialization (e.g., licensing our technology to others for their use for a fee), but more often this may be through non-commercial means. Both means are important.

Student Support: Some programs at KSC and PSU are inherently more enmeshed with intellectual property concerns. Part of a student’s educational experience in those fields should be learning how to manage one’s intellectual property over their career. Additionally, these students are future potential donors. Preparing them to be successful in this aspect of their career is not only right, but in our best interest.

Financial Value: In the event that an invention, discovery, or other work has enough societal value and market potential that KSC/PSU would choose to patent and license its use to others, there would be financial gain to the institution through a revenue sharing agreement with the inventor. To be clear, however, financial windfalls are rare, should not be expected, and cannot be the driving reason for providing these services to our campus.

For more information, please contact Ben Amsden (Center for Business and Community Partnerships), blamsden@plymouth.edu, 535-3276, or Eric Spieth (Enterprise Center at Plymouth), easpieth@plymouth.edu, 535-2523

Contact Us

Center for Business and Community Partnerships

Ben Amsden
Director of the Center for Business and Community Partnershipsblamsden@plymouth.edu
(603) 535-3276